Treat of the Week

I needed to make a snack to share at my bookclub meeting and this one just came to me (mainly because right now we have ALOT of popcorn and I had a bag of dried tropical fruit that was never going to be eaten otherwise.)
Behold, the birth of

White Chocolate Tropical Popcorn

2 bags microwave popcorn (for this I used the homestyle kind)
1 bag dried tropical fruit
1 cup salted cashews, broken up into pieces
8 ounces white chocolate
1 TBS vegetable shortening
1/2 cup yellow candy wafers (strictly optional and just for looks)



Pop popcorn according to directions. Sift out any unpopped kernels and place popped corn into very large bowl. Over a double boiler, melt white chocolate and shortening together and pour over popcorn. Toss pocorn until coated, quickly add in fruit and nuts and toss again until coated once more. Lay out onto a large baking sheet to cool and harden. Melt candy wafers and use a spoon to drizzle over popcorn on baking sheet. Let sit once more until all is completely cooled down and hardened. Break apart and serve in a large bowl or individual sized paper bags.

The candy coating really is only for looks, but it does at a bit more sweetness.

Fabric Headboard by Me (oh yeah, and Jon...)

I finally did it. I said I was going to for three years now and I finally made my headboard. Best part, I concocted a way to make it where there was not a single stitch of sewing involved and Jon's phenomenal furniture engineering skills made it lightweight enough I could even carry it up the stairs myself if I needed to. I think it turned out pretty great and was just what our bedroom needed to give it more of a contemporary feel with out being even more masculine (feminine decor DOES NOT reign in my house, in fact it's practically non existent...)
Here's the final product...





When I was trying to figure out how to make it and looked online, all the patterns and directions said to use plywood as a base. I have a king size be and so I knew that the plywood was going to be ridiculously heavy and probably need to be secured directly into the wall. I didn't really want to do that. Nor did I want to have to sew any fabric for it at all. My sewing skills are horrible. So here's what we did...

Materials (for a standard king size bed)

1 king size duvet cover (I used a micro suede)
1 queen size 4 inch memory foam mattress topper
enough batting to cover a king size bed (76"x 80")
4- 2"x 3" boards all 8 ft long
4- metal "L" brackets
1 roll of screen gutter mesh or just some kind of metal mesh (yeah I know, just trust me)
staple gun (preferably one that hooks up to an air compressor)

The first thing we did was figure out exactly how tall we wanted the headboard to be on the wall and then cut 2 of the boards that height. For us it was 5 feet tall.
Next you need to measure the width of your mattress. After you measure the width, cut one of the remaining 2x3's to that size plus 4 inches. So, for example, we have a king mattress that measures 76" so we cut the 2x3 to 80."
With the final and remaining board, cut it to be 4 inches larger than the last board cut. For us that was 84." So, at this point, you should have 4 cut boards; two the height you want the final headboard and one cut two inches wider than the width of your mattress and last cut 4 inches wider than that.

Now you have to decide how long the actual fabric section of the headboard needs to be in order to come below your mattress. To do this, measure from the floor to the top of the mattress and subtract a good 3 or 4 inches. It will probably be somewhere around 25-28" before subraction. (FYI--The reason you want to subtract a few inches is so the fabric portion of your headboard end BELOW the top of the mattress. It will look better and be more comfortable.)
Take the measurement you have gotten above and mark it on the first two boards you cut. In my case the measurement was 23" and I marked 23" up on the two 5 foot boards I cut.

Now its time to assemble the frame. Here is a diagram below of what the frame should look like when assembled. Notice that the reason you cut the final board 4 inches bigger is so it can make up the top piece of the frame and be flush with the two side pieces.
Nail all the pieces together and then secure with L brackets and nails to make very sturdy.




With your frame in place, its time to create the backing for the foam. Here is where the mesh screen comes in. The mesh screen we used is sold near where they cut glass and chains in the hardware store (for me, that's aisle 4 at Lowe's.) It's original purpose is to cover gutters so that leaves and debris won't fall in, but we used it as a weaving material. Take the screen and cut enough pieces to cover the inside of the frame both widthwise and lengthwise and then weave the mesh together using your staple gun to secure it into place very tightly. I used a tight lattice weave pattern (like the kind on top of an apple pie.)

Once you have a your frame woven with the mesh, you inlay the memory foam into the frame with the mesh behind it. I used a queen size memory foam mattress topper (measuring 60x80) and turned it sideways and then trimmed off the excess. I also made sure to use a depth of memory foam thicker than my frame, so in my case that would be a 4" depth.
The last two steps are to wrap the ENTIRE frame in batting and your duvet cover (also turned sideways) and then staple tightly on the back. The result is the picture above. Not bad for my first attempt.
This is much more lightweight than you could make out of plywood and since it is on its own legs, we just stood it up and let the weight of the bed hold it into place. You can also secure it to the bed-frame which is what I am ultimately going to do. Also, since it has legs, you can stain or paint the legs to match your decor if you need to.

Repressed Anger

This is awesome! I found this on shoeboxblog today (I love that blog, by the way) I love this game, where was this game during my teen dating years filled with angst and drama? It's still pretty fun to play, just don't let your four year old catch you, then there's going to be all kind of unnecessary explaining....


Throw Rocks at Boys

Congratulations Devyn and Michael!

One of my very favorite people had their baby this weekend. Congratulations new mommy Devyn and daddy Michael (and congratulations to Auntie DeEtte, too!)


Here's a tribute to new baby:

Jane Elizabeth Mann

(sung to the tune of Welcome Welcome Sabbath Morning...)


Welcome Welcome Baby Jane,
You're now here and we're so glad!
Welcome Welcome to your family
With your awesome Mom and Dad.

Aunt DeEtte and little Lily have been waiting to meet you,
Now Connor will be happy that Devyn won't eat all the food!

Welcome Welcome Baby Jane
Now please, sleep through the night,
Welcome, Welcome, Baby Jane
You make this world alright!

Treat of the Week

The cupcake train is goin' full speed...

This week, I present:

FRENCH VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE ICING AND MILK CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES




CHOO-CHOO!

Cake

1 box french vanilla cake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/3 cup softened butter
3 eggs

Mix together above ingredients
Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes in cupcake liners COOL COMPLETELY!
Frost with frosting below
Will make 24 cupcakes

Frosting

1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 TBS sour cream
Milk or cream

Whip butter and vanilla together. Add cocoa and combine thoroughly. Alternate adding powdered sugar and sour cream until ingredients are completely combined. Thin with milk or cream if frosting seems "crumbly" or too thick to pipe or spread ( I usually need a tablespoon or two.) When it looks like right consistency, turn the mixer on high and let it whip for about 4-5 minutes. Allow to sit for a few minutes before you frost the cupcakes. Will frost 24 cupcakes.

Garnish with milk chocolate shavings (to make these, put a chocolate bar--your favorite kind--in the freezer for a few minutes, remove and grate with a micrplane or grater.)

Underoos

Underoos are awesome.


I wish I still had a pair. They were the best things ever. I have a picture of myself in Wonder Woman underoos when I was like, 5, but its fallen in to the black hole that is family pictures. I wish
I could find it.


Most underoos came in the superhero variety, but my favorite has to be Chewbacca Underoos. Nothin' says "hey it's the '80's" than a big hairy Chewbacca painted across your underclothing. Except for maybe A-Team underoos, or Dukes of Hazard, now THAT would be sweet.


Regardless, underoos are still awesome. I don't know why they don't make them in grown up sizes. I'm sure there enough of us dorks trying to reclaim the carefree irresponsibility of our youth.

If anyone out there is wondering what you get a Contessa for a gift, I want some Underoos...

Cupcake Cancellation

Sorry everyone, a last minute trip to Utah to help a friend recover from surgery has put the White Chocolate and Lemon Cupcakes for the auction to a "no-go" status. Instead I will be auctioning off a DOZEN cupcakes, your choice of flavor for whatever occasion YOU choose. So bid away tomorrow night!